This post is for people who are new to data sourcing, or interested in Data Journalism but unsure of where to begin.
First, it is useful to start with an idea, question or hypothesis. In Story Based Enquiry Mark Lee Hunter emphasises the importance of having an idea of what you are looking for in data.
He said: “We do not think that the only issue is finding information. Instead, we think that the core task is telling the story. Stories are the cement which holds together every step of the investigative process, from conception to research, writing, quality control and publication.”
Data stories and visualisations are part of journalism and, when looking for information, a good starting place is to use traditional journalistic methods. Contacts, tip offs, interviews and research can all point you in the direction of interesting data, and of questions that could be answered by statistics. This is known as Active Data Journalism.
